The MUN Undergraduate Students’ Union has delivered a petition advocating for fair wages, effective work term placements, and the elimination of differential fees to the President of Memorial University, and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

The petition has been signed by 797 students, which represents 69 per cent of the Undergraduate Engineering Student Body.

“We, the undersigned, recognize several injustices and barriers that students have experienced in the Engineering Co-op program with regard to differential fees, as well as work term placements that pay less than minimum wage.

Students, especially international students, have found that an increased work term fee, sometimes coupled with low-paying work, higher tuition costs relative to local students, restrictions on how many hours an international student can work weekly, and the costs already associated with living in St. John’s as an international student, can impact both their academics and wellbeing.

We, therefore, recommend the following changes to the Engineering Co-operative Education program at Memorial University:

●  All students, both local and international, only pay a fee of $600 for each work term;

●  All work term placements must pay students an hourly wage of at least the provincial minimum wage, which will be increasing to $15.00/hour on October 1, 2023;

●  All work term placements must be somewhat relevant to engineering.